A correlation between age and Actinomyces in the adenotonsillar tissue of children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of actinomyces in adenotonsillar disease, recurrent infections, or tonsillar hypertrophy in children. The study included 64 patients, ranging in age from 2 to 16 years, who had elective adenotonsillar surgery to treat either adenotonsillar hypertrophy (36 children) or recurrent adenotonsillitis (28 children). Adenotonsillar Actinomyces was present in 30 children (48%). No statistical significance was found between Actinomyces and recurrent adenotonsillitis or adenotonsillar hypertrophy. However, there was a statistically significant relationship identified between the presence of actinomycosis and age, with a greater occurrence of actinomycosis in children between 5 and 16 years old.